Surveillance in Epidemiology (NURS 1113)

Study Notes

Definition and Importance of Surveillance

Surveillance is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.
It provides information to guide public health interventions and is vital for communicating results to public health and medical communities.
Surveillance is important for detecting outbreaks, providing information about baseline levels of disease, and enabling public health officials to monitor health at the community level.

Types of Surveillance

Passive surveillance: routine reporting of disease/health events by healthcare providers, with completeness and quality of data dependent on the reporter.
Active surveillance: health personnel make periodic calls or visits to health facilities to search for/identify new cases.

Establishing a Surveillance System

Establish objectives: decide which diseases are a priority, frequency, severity, cost, and public interest.
Develop case definitions: clearly defined in terms of person, place, and time, and categorized by level of certainty (suspect, probable, or confirmed).
Develop a data collection mechanism: data collection tool, type of specimen required, and information to be included.
Field test methods: essential before any system is implemented.
Conduct data analysis: descriptive analysis and hypothesis generation.
Data interpretation: detect real changes and disseminate information urgently, if necessary.
Evaluate the system: establish whether objectives were achieved and if changes are needed.

Characteristics of a Good Surveillance System

Network of motivated people
Clear, simple reporting mechanism
Clear objectives
Efficient communication system
Case definitions
Laboratory support
Appropriate infrastructure
Good feedback and rapid response (timely)

Characteristics of Surveillance

Timeliness: to implement effective control measures
Sensitivity: to identify persons with the disease
Representation: to provide an accurate picture of the temporal trend of the disease

Surveillance Systems in Jamaica

Notifiable diseases and health events: Class I, II, and III
Hospital active surveillance
Laboratory surveillance
Hotel surveillance
Sentinel surveillance system
Food-borne diseases surveillance
HIV surveillance
Surveillance of air and seaports at hospitals, health centers, and private doctor offices
Post-disaster disease surveillance

Description

Test your understanding of surveillance in epidemiology, including its definition, types, data sources, and characteristics of an effective surveillance system. Also, learn about the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005.